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Overview
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High blood pressure (hypertension)
Contents
Overview
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
High blood pressure, or hypertension, rarely has noticeable symptoms. But if untreated, it increases your risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
Around a third of adults in the UK have high blood pressure, although many will not realise it.
The only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have your blood pressure checked.
Information:
Coronavirus advice
British Heart Foundation: what coronavirus means for you if you have heart or circulatory disease
Blood Pressure UK: what does coronavirus mean for people with high blood pressure?
What is high blood pressure?
Blood pressure is recorded with 2 numbers. The systolic pressure (higher number) is the force at which your heart pumps blood around your body.
The diastolic pressure (lower number) is the resistance to the blood flow in the blood vessels.
They're both measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).
As a general guide:
high blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher (or 150/90mmHg or higher if you're over the age of 80)
ideal blood pressure is usually considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg
Blood pressure readings between 120/80mmHg and 140/90mmHg could mean you're at risk of developing high blood pressure if you do not take steps to keep your blood pressure under control.
Everyone's blood pressure will be slightly different. What's considered low or high for you may be normal for someone else.
Risks of high blood pressure
If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs, such as the brain, kidneys and eyes.
Persistent high blood pressure can increase your risk of a number of serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions, such as:
heart disease
heart attacks
strokes
heart failure
peripheral arterial disease
aortic aneurysms
kidney disease
vascular dementia
If you have high blood pressure, reducing it even a small amount can help lower your risk of these health conditions.
Check your blood pressure
The only way of knowing whether you have high blood pressure is to have a blood pressure test.
All adults over 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every 5 years. 
Getting this done is easy and could save your life.
You can get your blood pressure tested at a number of places, including:
at your GP surgery
at some pharmacies
as part of your NHS Health Check
in some workplaces
You can also check your blood pressure yourself with a home blood pressure monitor.
Find out more about getting a blood pressure test
Things that can increase your risk of getting high blood pressure
It's not always clear what causes high blood pressure, but there are things that can increase your risk.
You might be more at risk if you:
are overweight
eat too much salt and do not eat enough fruit and vegetables
do not do enough exercise
drink too much alcohol or coffee (or other caffeine-based drinks)
smoke
do not get much sleep or have disturbed sleep
are over 65
have a relative with high blood pressure
are of black African or black Caribbean descent
live in a deprived area
Making healthy lifestyle changes can sometimes help reduce your chances of getting high blood pressure and help lower your blood pressure if it's already high.
Treatment for high blood pressure
Doctors can help you keep your blood pressure to a safe level using:
lifestyle changes
medicines
What works best is different for each person.
Talk to your doctor to help you decide about treatment.
This patient decision aid (PDF, 132kb) can also help you to understand your treatment options.
Lifestyle changes to reduce blood pressure
These lifestyle changes can help prevent and lower high blood pressure:
reduce the amount of salt you eat and have a generally healthy diet
cut back on alcohol 
lose weight if you're overweight
exercise regularly
cut down on caffeine
stop smoking
Some people with high blood pressure may also need to take 1 or more medicines to stop their blood pressure getting too high.
Medicines for high blood pressure
If you're diagnosed with high blood pressure, your doctor may recommend taking 1 or more medicines to keep it under control.
These come as tablets and usually need to be taken once a day.
Common blood pressure medicines include:
ACE inhibitors – such as enalapril, lisinopril, perindopril and ramipril
angiotensin-2 receptor blockers (ARBs) – such as candesartan, irbesartan, losartan, valsartan and olmesartan
calcium channel blockers – such as amlodipine, felodipine and nifedipine or diltiazem and verapamil
diuretics – such as indapamide and bendroflumethiazide
beta blockers – such as atenolol and bisoprolol
alpha blockers – such as doxazosin
other diuretics – such as amiloride and spironolactone
The medicine recommended for you will depend on things like how high your blood pressure is, your age and your ethnicity.
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Page last reviewed: 23 October 2019
Next review due: 23 October 2022
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